The Price
by April418
Summary: The Kyuubi killed many people. Sadness and fear lead to hate, and hate can be very irrational. Uzumaki Naruto was on the receiving end of this hate. Outwardly, it appears he doesn’t mind at all, but inwardly it’s a whole different story.


A/N: Don't tell me this is unoriginal! I just got the urge to write something like this!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Summary: The Kyuubi killed many people. The villagers of Konoha feared it. Sadness and fear lead to hate, and hate can be very irrational. Uzumaki Naruto was on the receiving end of this hate. Outwardly, it appears he doesn't mind at all, but inwardly it's a whole different story.

* * *

That morning, Naruto was smiling. Not the fake, over enthusiastic smiles he usually plastered over his face. This one was real. He was genuinely happy.

The blonde walked down the streets of Konoha, so happy that he was almost oblivious to the glares people were sending him.

The key word being almost.

Naruto was never ignorant of the looks full of hatred the villagers sent his way. In a way, the reason why he was happy served to heighten his sensitivity to them. But today, their scorn just made him happier.

Even as a child, Naruto was exposed to this kind of loathing daily, and many people were surprised he acted as friendly as he did towards the citizens of the Leaf. But they didn't know the reason behind it.

Naruto walked past his favorite ramen stand and beamed cheerily at the closed sign in front of it. The owner, Teuchi, and his daughter Ayame were gone on vacation in Tea country. They wouldn't be coming back in a week or two.

"_I'm sorry we won't be here to make ramen for you, Naruto-kun," said Ayame apologetically. "It's just that we won a free vacation in Tea country." Naruto waved her off._

"_That's okay. I'll just have instant ramen instead!" _

"_Take care of yourself while we're gone," said Teuchi, attempting to fix Naruto with a stern glare. Instead, it ended up as a fond look. They apologized one more time for leaving._

_Little did they know that Naruto had bribed (blackmailed) the man in charge of the contest to give the free vacation to them._

Naruto cheerfully made his way to the center of Konoha. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was happier than he'd been in a long time. "Why?" you may ask. Because today was _the day_. The day he'd been waiting for his whole life.

All his friends were away on missions. He looked towards the Hokage tower, where his clone should be transporting Tsunade away from at that very moment. This morning her sake had been drugged with a nonlethal poison. Shinobi tended to over look things that weren't dangerous or life threatening, which is why she couldn't detect it. The poison should keep her knocked out a couple of days.

The villagers were all ignorant of what was to come, blissfully going about their daily business. If they had known the reason Naruto never returned their harsh words and cold glares, it would have been much different.

The reason wasn't that he was too nice, or too stupid, or too weak. Everyday Naruto restrained himself with the knowledge of what would happen on this day. The day he had been planning for years. He reached the center of Konoha, still wearing a huge smile. _'This is it,'_ he thought, before slipping into his conscious.

_He was walking down a large tunnel, full of water. It was almost like a sewer._

People in the crowd stopped to look at Naruto, who was just standing in the middle of the street with his eyes closed.

_He reached the end of the tunnel, to see a large cage. In the center was a piece of paper with writing on it. A seal._

One of the shop owners yelled at him, but he didn't appear to hear him.

_Inside the cage was a giant crimson fox, full of power and malice. _

The familiar grin on the blonde's face suddenly twisted into a smirk. It was then that the villagers knew something was very wrong.

_The boy and the fox wore twin looks of sadistic glee. Naruto reached up and pealed the seal off the bars._

The citizens of Konoha barley knew what hit them.

* * *

A/N: I'm sure every fan of Naruto has wanted this to happen at some point.

I'm not sure whether this should be a one shot or not. What do you think?

REVIEW!


End file.
